Flirting with Life on the Line – 4

“So, customer… It hurts….”

“……..”

Garam remained unmoved by the clerk’s plea.

“Garam, what are you doing!”

All eyes turned to them at the sound of a tray falling. The clerk’s hand, gripped in her hand, was turning white from lack of circulation.

“……..”

Startled by my shout, her resentful eyes turned to my face, then back to the clerk with fierce hatred.

“Let go of her!”

I grabbed Garam’s arm and tried to forcibly pull her away, but she didn’t budge.

“Ugh….”

Her grip only tightened, and the clerk’s moan grew louder.

“Garam!”

I tried to pull harder, but she still wouldn’t let go.

“Garam. Let go of her. Or I’ll never see you again.”

“……”

At my ultimatum, she loosened her grip.

As Garam released her hand, the clerk clutched her arm and groaned.

“I’m sorry. She’s got some issues. It seems like she misunderstood something.”

I sent Garam behind me and bowed deeply.

I bowed again to the other customers in the cafe and to the manager, who was hurrying out, having grasped the situation.

“I’m sorry. We’ll be leaving soon. Garam, go wait outside.”

“Boss….”

Garam grabbed my sleeve.

I pulled my arm away, knocking her hand off.

“Just go to the car first.”

With a soft thud, she staggered slightly.

I turned to face her directly.

Her pupils were trembling noticeably, and her lost hand cut through the air.

As if she thought I would understand her actions.

Faced with the unbelievable situation, my head began to ache.

“I just… Boss, it’s not like that….”

Now I could see the Garam I knew.

“Just go first. I need to talk to these people here.”

I put my hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her.

She stumbled backward, even though the force I used wouldn’t have moved her normally.

I turned her around and guided her toward the exit.

Even as I pushed her, she turned her head, trying to make eye contact with me.

But I didn’t have the mental space to worry about making eye contact with her.

The thought of getting rid of the countless stares was foremost in my mind.

Once she was outside the door, she was cut off from me by the glass.

She hesitated, as if she couldn’t bring herself to leave, but when I gestured for her to go, she finally headed toward the car.

Her shoulders looked smaller than usual as she walked away.

After practically kicking her out of the cafe, I turned to the manager and the clerk.

“Again, I’m really sorry.”

I bowed again, expressing my apologies.

The clerk was holding her arm, which had turned red and swollen, and her eyes were brimming with tears.

Watching her, I felt a strange heaviness in my chest.

I repeatedly apologized to them, trying to explain Garam’s behavior.

“That… the friend from earlier has some issues, she’s a little sick.”

“Ah, yes…”

The manager nodded in agreement, looking sympathetic.

“So sometimes she can be violent. She’s not usually like this. I don’t know why she did that today.”

I had no choice but to downplay Garam’s actions.

“It’s not much compared to the pain and shock you experienced, but… as a token of my apology…”

I took out as much money as I could grab from my wallet.

I handed the clerk a wad of 50,000 won bills.

“Actually, money can’t compensate for what happened, but I hope you’ll accept it anyway.”

I added, so they wouldn’t think I was trying to buy them off.

Seeing the large sum of money, the clerk waved her hands in refusal, but I forcefully pressed the money into her hand like a relative giving money to a niece or nephew on New Year’s Day.

I hope they don’t sue me or anything.

“Please come again!”

The manager and clerk came to the door to see me off.

We were the ones who caused the trouble, but they were treating me so well… I guess money really is the best.

Ugh… that money was a waste. No matter how rich you are, a waste is a waste.

As I trudged to the parking lot, I saw Garam standing blankly next to the car.

Ah… I didn’t give her the keys.

My heart felt heavier than my lightened wallet.

“!!!”

She and I recognized each other.

She seemed to want to come toward me, shifting her body hesitantly, but I told her to stay there and quickened my pace.

“I’m sorry. I forgot to give you the car keys.”

It might have been a short time, but I felt bad for leaving her standing outside.

I quickly opened the car door, and she silently got into the passenger seat.

Sitting in the driver’s and passenger seats, we looked ahead.

A common parking lot in the city. There wasn’t much of a view.

Just a continuous stream of people and cars passing by.

The scenery outside the car was a continuation of everyday life.

The situation inside the car was an extension of the extraordinary.

I felt as frustrated as if I had grabbed a tangled ball of yarn.

A ball of yarn that you can’t cut with scissors or give up on untangling.

“Garam. Why on earth did you do that?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want to hear an apology. I want to know why you did it.”

I wanted her to say that she had misunderstood the situation and reacted that way.

“That, that woman was flirting with Boss… and trying to seduce you, even bringing you a cake…”

There was a lot she wanted to say, but I decided to remain silent, as it didn’t seem right to interrupt her.

“And if you got close… Boss wouldn’t even look at me… I thought that might happen.”

Garam’s voice grew softer and softer. She seemed to realize how ridiculous she sounded as she spoke.

“Then, I’d be alone again….”

Her hands, placed on her knees, were clenched tightly, as if she was deeply saddened by something.

She’s going to break her knees like that.

“Garam, first of all, the cake was for all the cafe customers to evaluate the new product.”

“You don’t think I’d get close to the clerk just because I ate that cake, do you?”

I tried to reassure her as much as possible, to make her feel at ease.

Rather than pushing her, I tried to soothe her and make her understand.

If there’s push and pull in dealing with people, this would be the pulling part.

“But….”

“But this and but that… Garam, you can’t go around using violence.”

Especially since she’s so strong.

Now it was my turn to push her a little.

“And even if I did get close to the clerk, it wouldn’t justify Garam using violence.”

“Huh? Get close?”

She looked at me, startled.

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

“……..”

“Anyway, I’d be very disappointed if Garam hit and hurt people like that. I’m a little disappointed today.”

I finished speaking and started the car.

“I’m sorry. I really messed up.”

As I paid for parking and was about to leave, Garam said quietly.

I put on a smiling face and tried to change the mood.

“Don’t apologize to me, apologize to the clerk later.”

“Yes. But, where are we going now?”

“Let’s call it a day.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll take you home.”

“Ah… I, well… I was supposed to do my afternoon workout….”

That was the plan, but how could we work out or do anything in this atmosphere?

I shook my head.

“No, I think it’s better for both of us to stop here today.”

“That….”

She tried to say something, but didn’t finish.

The car drove on and on, finally arriving at her familiar house.

“Garam, we’re here.”

“Boss. I really messed up. I won’t do it again.”

She apologized again. I patted her shoulder a couple of times.

“Yes. Just reflect on what happened today, and don’t dwell on it too much.”

“Then, you don’t hate me, do you?”

“I don’t hate you. Don’t worry.”

I said firmly, as if to reassure her, and she finally smiled.

“Thank you. Boss. Then I’ll go home and ‘reflect’.”

She opened the passenger door and got out, giving me a polite bow.

-I’ll see you tomorrow.

She said as she closed the passenger door.

“Honey, go check on the neighbors.”

As soon as he got home from work, his wife said something out of the blue.

“Why the neighbors all of a sudden?”

Kim Geon-woo asked his wife, who was seething with anger.

“I don’t know, I’ve been hearing strange noises since earlier. It’s so loud….”

He was a little upset that his wife was nagging him as soon as he got home from work, but he couldn’t refuse his lovely wife’s request, so he put on his slippers and went next door.

-Knock knock knock

He knocked on the peeling steel door, and there was a sound from inside.

-Knock knock knock

“Hello.”

-Squeak

The door opened slightly, and a woman’s voice came from the crack.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but the noise is carrying to the neighbors. Could you please keep it down?”

“Ah…”

The door opened wide.

“I’m sorry for the noise.”

A woman in a shabby tank top and shorts bowed.

“…Well, as long as you understand.”

Flustered, Kim Geon-woo accepted her greeting roughly and returned to his own house.

“……..”

“What did the neighbors say? Will they be quiet?”

His wife came over and asked, but he leaned against the door, gasping for breath.

“What, what did I just see?”

Recalling the image of the neighbor woman covered in blood, as if she had been cut and torn by something, Geon-woo collapsed to the floor.